Feiedeich gessnee



F. GESSNER.

(No Model.)

ACCORDION.

No. 818,242. Patented May19,1885

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FRIEDRICH GESSN ER, OF MAGDEBURG, IPRUSSIA, (ERMANY.

ACCORDION.

EZPBCIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 318,242, dated May 19, 1885.

Application filed February '20, 1884. (Xe model.) Patented in Germany February 3, 188-1, No.'28,057.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRIEDRIOH Gnssnnn, a subject of the King of Prussia, residing at the city of Magdebnrg, in the Kingdom of Prussia, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Accordions, (for which Letters Patent have been heretofore granted to me by the government of Germany, dated February 3, 1884, No. 28,057,) of which the following is a specification.

This invention refers to improvements in accordions of that class having two rows of reeds, and the object of my invention is to provide means for readily throwing one of the rows of reeds into or out of action without the necessity of interrupting the playing of the instrument.

Heretofore accordions have been constructed with two rows of reeds, of which one was provided with a sliding register operated by a button for opening and closing the windpassages. For operating said register it was necessary to interrupt the playing of the instrument. This inconvenience is avoided by my invention, which consists in combining one of the rows of reeds with an auxiliary wind-chest, which receives air from the bellows by one or more openings,,which are closed or opened by a spring-valve operated by suitable means from the outside of the frame of the accordions at a point within easy reach of the fingers of the operator, while his hand is in position for fingering the keys, as will more fully appear hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section of an accordion (without the bellows) embodying my improvements, in which the valve closing the auxiliary Wind-chest is normally closed by a spring and opened by a finger-lever within easy reach of the operators hand. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a similar section in which the valve is normally opened by a spring and closed by the operator, and Fig. 4: is a bottom plan view thereof.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

A is the frame of the accordion with the bellows detached; E, the reed-board, with its two rows of reeds, r and r,- G, the. key-board;

B, an auxiliary wind-chest for the row of reeds r. The wind-chest B communicates with the bellows through an opening or openings, cl, at the bottom. 0 is a valve for closing said opening or openings (Z, said valve being supported by a lever, G, pivoted at e. f is a spring passing through a hook or staple of the lever c and forcing the valve into open or closed position, as desired.

By a rod, 7L, the lever O is connected with a bell-crank lever, F, at the back of the keyboard G. In Figs. 1 and 2, by pressing the lever F with the thumb against the key-board G, the valve 0 is opened and the second row of reeds brought into action. By releasing the lever F the valve is closed through the action of the spring f, and the second row of reeds thrown out of action. In Figs. 3 and at the operation is reversed. The lever C is pivot-ed at c, and kept open by the spring F, so as to keep the reeds in action until by pressing upon the lever F the valve 0 is closed and the second row of reeds is thrown out of action. The valve 0, connected with the auxiliary wind-chest of one of the rows of reeds, may either be held open by the spring or closed by the same. The means for operating said valve may be varied.

The arrangement of a second row of reeds with an auxiliary wind-chest, an air-valve, and means for operating the latter from the outside at a point within easy reach of the fingers of the operator, and without the necessity of his removing his hand from its position on the key-board, furnishes the advantage that the accordion may be played at will with one or two rows of reeds, as desired, without interrupting the playing of the instrument.

Having thus described myinvcntion, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent The combination of an accordion-frame, a reed-board having two parallel rows of reeds, a wind-chest attached to the under side of said reed-board, one of the walls of said wind-chest extending between said rows of reeds, bellows attached to said frame and inclosing said windchest, the registers for one set of reeds opening directly into said bellows and the regis ters for the other set of reeds opening into In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in ihe presence of two snbscribing; witnesses.

FR IiE'IQXI 2111] If G IGSSNEH.

JOHN R. jlmsnrx',

Witnesses: l AlTUU'S'l M'Liuyn. 

